An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating with little or no user input. An autonomous vehicle senses its environment using sensing devices such as radar, lidar, image sensors, and the like. The autonomous vehicle system further uses information from global positioning systems (GPS) technology, navigation systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, and/or drive-by-wire systems to navigate the vehicle.
Vehicle automation has been categorized into numerical automotive levels ranging from Zero, corresponding to no automation with full human control, to Five, corresponding to full automation with no human control. Various automated driver-assistance systems, such as cruise control, adaptive cruise control, and parking assistance systems correspond to lower automation levels, while true “driverless” vehicles correspond to higher automation levels.
A vehicle may have one or more automated driver-assistance systems of a lower automation level, which requires user input for operation. In certain instances, however, the user may not be able to provide direct input, for example, due to a current driving situation or a health condition associated with the user. In other instances, the user may want to simply have the convenience to operate the vehicle or a vehicle system indirectly without deliberate user action.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for controlling a vehicle system without deliberate user input. It is further desirable to provide systems and methods for controlling a vehicle system based on one or more physiological traits of a user. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.